Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1~545;31
RCA 74,078
~ECORD SIDE IDENTIFICATION
AP~A~ATUS ~OR VIDEO DISC PLAYER
This invention generally relates to video disc
players, and more particularly, to an apparatus,
responsive to a disc record caddy, for indicating the
record side subject to play.
In certain disc systems, video information is
stored on a disc record in the form of geometric
variations in a continuous spiral track disposed on the
record surface. The variations in capacitance between
an electrode carried by a groove-riding stylus and a
conductive property oi the record are sensed to reproduce
the stored information. A capacitance-type video disc
system is illustrativelv disclosed in U. S. Patent No.
` 3,842,194 (Clemens).
In such systems, it is beneficial to enclose
the video disc record in a thin plastic caddy which
comprises an outer jacket and a record retaining spine
removably located therein in order to protect the record.
The spine, in turn, consists of a closure portion and a
further portion having an opening for receiving the
enclosed record. ~or record loading, a full caddy is
inserted into an input slot provided in the player. A
record extracting mechanism disposed in the player
- removes the record and the spine assembly from the jacket
during subsequent jacket withdrawal, whereby the record/
spine assembly is retained in the player. The player is
equipped with a receiving platform for supporting the
retained record/spine assembly. The retained record is
subse~uently transferred to a turntable for playback
by raising the turntable relative to the platform. For
subsequent record retrieval, the record is transferred
back to the platform by lowering the turntable and an
empty jacket is inserted into the player, whereby the
record/spine assembly is returned back into the caddy.
Withdrawal of the caddy from the player effects record
; 40 retrieval. Re~erence is made to U. S. Patents 4,159,827
.' ~' .
~15~3~
1 2- ~CA 7~,07~
and 4~133,540, issued to L. A. Torrington, for prior art
examples of a video disc caddy and a record extracting
mechanism suitable for use therewith.
In such players, it is desirable that the
player be provided with a means for identifyin~ the
record side subject to playback. In a U.S. Patent No.
4,205,853, issuod on June 30, 19~0
to Leslie Albert Torrington, a sensing member is
mounted in the player in the immediate vicinity of the
caddy input slot such that it is subject to deflection in
a first direction when an occupied caddy is inserted
into the player with a given side thereof facing upward,
and is subject to de~lection in a second direction,
opposite to the first direction, in response to an
occupied cover insertion with the given side thereof
facing downward. A readout device, responsive to the
direction of deflection of the sensing member, provides
an indication of the record side subject to playback. An
actuating member, subject to engagement with the spine
upon cover arrival at the fully inserted position in
the player, holds the sensing member in the location to
which it was deflected during the cover insertion,
throughout the period of retention of the spine in the
player.
The record side identification apparatus,
pursuant to the present invention, comprises a sensing
member carrying a pair of spaced sensor elements which
are subject to engagement with the leading edge of the
caddy in response to insertion of the caddy to a preset
position in the player. One of the sensor elements is
arranged to be disposed respectively in and out of the
path of a recessed portion of the spine when the caddy
36 is inserted into the player with the recessed portion
disposed on the same and opposite side of the caddy
insertion path as the sensing member. The engagement
between the sensor elements and the leading edge of the
caddy during the caddy insertion is effective to dispose
the sensing member respectively in a first position and a
53~
1 -3- RCA 74,078
second position in response to disposit.ion of the one
sensor element in and out of the path of said recessed
portion of the spine. The sensing member ,s additionally
subject to deflection away from the caddy in response to
further insertion of the caddy into the player. A
display device, responsive to the deflection of the
sensing member during the further insertion of the caddy,
provides an indication of the record side subject to
playback.
IN T~IE DRAWINGS:
FIGURE 1 shows a video disc caddy comprising an
outer jacket and a record retaining spine suitable for use
with the record side identification apparatus of the
instant invention;
FIGURE 2 illustrates a partial perspective
view of the record retaining spine of FIGURE l;
FIGURE 3 represents a video disc player
incor~orating the record side identification apparatus
in accordance with the subject invention;
FIGURE 4 is a partial plan view of the player
of FIGURE 3 with its cover removed;
FIGURE 5 depicts a partial side view of the
player of FIGURES 3 and 4;
FIGURE 6 is an inverted perspective view of
a spine locating member disposed in the player of
FIGURES 3-5;
~ IGURES 7 and 8 illustrate the details of the
record extracting mechanism of the player of FIGURES 3-5;
FIGURE 9 shows the return of the record/spine
assembly back into the jacket when an empty jacket is
inserted into the player of FIGURES 3-5 for record
. retrieval;
; 35 FIGURES lO/ ll and 12 respectively show the
top view, the side view and the bottom view of the record
side identification ap~aratus of this invention;
IGURES 13 and 14 illustrate the insertion of
the caddy into the player with a given side thereof
respectively facing upward and downward;
.
.~
115~5~1
1 ~4- RC~ 74l078
FI~7UR~S 15 and 16 show the dispositions of
the sensing member of the instant record side
identification mechanism when the caddy is inserted into
the player with the given side thereof facing upward
and downward respectivel~7 as indicated in EIGURES 13
and 14; and
FIGURE 17 depicts the plan view of the record
side identification mechanism of FIGURES 10-16 with the
sensor member removed therefrom.
As shown in FI~U~E 1, the video disc caddy
10 comprises a jacket 12 having an edge opening 14
in communication with a record enclosing cavity 16
and a substantially planar, record retaining spine 18
having a major surface 20, and subject to insertion into
the jacket along a path. The record retaining spine 18
has a portion 22 which serves as a closure when the
spine is fully inserted into the jacket, and a portion
20 24 having a circular opening 26 for receiving a record 28.
The spine 18 is further provided with a pair o integrally-
molded, flexural latch fingers 30 and 32, which have free
ends 34 and 36 adapted for lateral motion parallel to the
major surface of the spine. Each of the spine latch
25 fingers 30 and 32 has a protruding element 38 and 40.
Each of the protruding elements 38 and 40 has a square
edge 42 and 44, respectively, and an inclined edge 46
and 48, respectively. The protruding elements 38 and 40
are received in poc]cets 50 and 52 disposed in the jacket
12 for locking the spine 18 in place when it is fully
inserted therein~
As shown in FI~U~E 2, the record retaining
spine 18 is provided with a pair of player side
identification recesses 54 and 56, a pair of gripper
cutouts 58 and 60, a pair of caddy side identification
pads 62 and 64 and a pair of spine locating slots 66
and 68. The details of these features will be later
explained in conjunction with the description of the
operation of the player. Additionally, recesses 70
~: 40 and 72 are disposed on both sides of the foremost edge 74
:
~L15~53~
1 -5- RCA 74,07~
of the spine 18 for providing a constant wall thickness
in order to prevent occurance of post molding sink marks.
Disposed on the instrument panel 102 of the
video disc player 100 is a function lever 104 as shown
in FIGURE 3. The function lever 104 is subject to
disposition in any one of the three positions thereof -
"OFF", "~LAY", and "LOAD/UNLOAD". A door flap, not
- 10 shown, closes the caddy input slot 106 when the function
lever 104 is disposed in the OFF and PLAY positions. In
the LOAD/UNLOAD position of the function lever 104, the
door flap is opened to permit, for example, insertion of
a caddy through the input slot to load an enclosed record
into the player. ~ pushbutton 108 is provided to dispose
the player in the "PAUSE" mode. A set of pushbuttons
110, 112, 114 and 116 is arranged on the instrument
panel 102 to dispose the player in any one of the four
"SEARCH" modes, i.e., fast forward/reverse and scan
forward/reverse. A digital readout 118 provides
indication of playing time and other functions, such as,
PAUSE, LOAD and END, etc. A pair of tally lights 120
are operated to provide indication of the record side
subject to play, e.g., "SIDE 1" and "SIDE 2". An access
door 122 is disposed on the cover of the player to
provide access to a stylus cartridge.
As sho~m in FIGURE 4, the player includes a
motor 130 which drives a rotatably-mounted turntable
132 by means of a belt 134 disposed about a pulley 136
30 mounted on the motor shaft 138 and a flange 140 arranged
on the underside of the turntable. A spindle 142 is
disposed on the turntable 132 to center a record
deposited thereon. A carriage 144, having a compartment
for receiving the stylus cartridge 146, is subject to
translation during playback from the back of the player
toward the turntable spindle 142 in synchronism with the
motion of a pickup stylus 148 riding in a s?iral
information groove disposed on the record.
The player is further equipped with a pair of
40 rails 150 and 152, aligned with input slot 106, for
` l~LS~53~
- 1 -6- RCA 74,078
guiding the caddy insertion into the player along
a further path. A set of spring-loaded receiver pads
154, 156, 158, 160 and 162 are disposed in the player
for supporting the spine and the record therein upon
withdrawal of the jaclcet from the player such that the
record/spine assembly is precisely aligned with the
centerline of the guide rails 150 and 152.
Pursuant to this invention, the player further
includes a record side identifying mechanism 164 which
operates the SIDE l/SIDE 2 tally lights 120 on the player
instrument panel 102 to provide an indication of the
record side subject to play. The record side identifi-
cation mechanism 164 will be described in detail in con-
junction with the description of FIGURES 10-17.
The player is further e~uipped ~ith a record
extracting mechanism 170 which will be described in
detail first~ To load a record into the player, the
function lever 104 is disposed in the LOAD/UNLOAD
position and a stored-in caddv is inserted into the
player along the guide rails 150 and 152. The caddy
deflects the front receiver pads 154 and 156, the
intermediate receiver pads 158 and 160, and the back
26 receiver pad 162 as it is inserted into the player. The
record side identifier 164, in response to the absence
or presence of the recesses 54 and 56 on the top side
of the spine 18, activates the appropriate one of the
tally lights 120, e.g., SIDE 1 or SIDE 2, respectively,
during the caddy insertion as ~Jill become clear from the
description of the instant record side identification
mechanism 164. The caddy engages the carriage 144 as
it is pushed into the player, thereby returning the
carriage to the starting position at the back end of
the player-
A locating member 172, having a tapered lead-in
portion 174 and a base portion 176, is disposed in the
player for reception in the appropriate one of the
slots 66 and 68 provided in the closure portion 22 o
the spine 18 during arrival of the caddy at the fully
115453~
1 -7- RCA 74,078
inserted position in the player in order to accurately
locate the spine in the lateral direction in the player.
5 The spine locating member 172 is disposed on a retainer
bracket 178 mounted in the player as shown in FI~;URE 6.
As the caddy reaches the ~ully inserted
position in the player, the wedge-like portions of a
pair of latch defeat members 180 and 182 enter the
jacket to deflect the latch fingers 30 and 32 of the
spine 18 to free the spine 18 and the enclosed record
28 from the jacket 12. The latch defeat members 180
and 182 are disposed on a pair of collars 184 and 186
which are fixedly mounted on a shaft 188. The shaft
188 is rotatably mounted in the player by means of a
pair of pedestals 190 and 192. A pair of hold-down
members 194 and 196 are disposed on the pedestals
190 and 192 to precifiely locate the spine 18 in the
vertical direction. The relative position of the hold-
down member 196 is shown more clearly in FIGURE 5.
A gripper arm 200 is pivotally mounted in theplayer by means of a pair of upstanding supports 202
and 204. Disposed on the gripper arm 200 are a pair
of jaw-like gripper members 206 and 208 as shown in
26 FIGURE 7. The gripper arm 200 is biased toward the
hold-down members 194 and 196 by a pair of coil springs
210 and 212 in the manner indicated in FIGURE 5. A
pair of ledge portions 214 and 216 disposed on the
, gripper arm 200 engage the underside of the collars
; 30 184 and 186 in order to accurately position the gripper
members 206 and 208 and the latch deEeat members 180
and 182 in the vertical direction.
As the caddy arrives at the fully inserted
position in the player, the foremost edge of the caddy
35 rides up the ramp portions 218 and 220 of the gripper
members 206 and 208 to deflect the gripper arm downward
until the coil springs 210 and 212 cause the gripper
members to snap into the cutouts 50 and 60 disposed
in the closure portion 22 of the spine 18 to lock the
spine to the player. A pair of leaf springs (not shown)
115453~
1 -8-- ~C~ 7~,078
disposed in the player bias the spine such that the
engagement between the locating surfaces 222 and 224
of the gripper members 206 and 208 and the locating
surfaces 59 and 61 of the cutouts 58 and 60 is ensured.
Since the spine 18 is released from the jacket 12 through
the operation of the latch defeat members 180 and 182
and latched to the player through the operation of the
spine gripper members 206 and 208, subsequent withdrawal
of the jacket leaves the spine and the record assembly
in the player. The spring loaded lift pads and hold-down
members disposed in the player serve to accurately hold
the retained spine/record assembly at the correct
elevation in the player. The lateral registration of
the spine/record assembly in the player is assured by
the recention of the locating member 172 in the
appropriate one of the cutouts 66 and 68 disposed in the
spine 18. The engagement between the locating walls of
the gripper members 206 and 208 and the cutouts 58 and
' 60 disposed in the spine 18 assure the front-to-bac~
alignment of the spine/record assembly in the player.
As soon as the latch defeat members 180 and 182
; are freed from the jacket during caddy withdrawal, a pair
of coil springs 226 and 228 disposed between the gripper
arm 200 and the levers 230 and 232 arranged on the collars
184 and 186 cause downward deflection of the latch defeat
members. The construction details of the collar 186
: are shown in FIGU~E 8. The construction of the other
collar 184 is similar.
To transfer the retained record to the
turntable 132 for playback, the function lever 104 is
moved to the PLAY position, which, in turn, raises the
turntable and starts the turntable motor 130. The
turntable 132 picks up the record as it is raised,
leaving the spine 18 resting on the receiver pads
154, 156, 158, 160 and 162. The pickup stylus 148 is
gently lowered into the spiral information groove on
the record and the carriage 144 is translated toward
4~ the record center in correlation with the inward motion
1~54531
-9- RCA 74, 078
of the stvlus. The recovered signal is processed to
reconstruct a composite television signal eon-taining
picture and sound information.
- To transfer the record back to the receiver pads
154-162, the function lever 10~ is moved back to the
LOAD/UI~LOAD position, which lowers the turntable 132 to
a height below the lift pads. To ensure that the reeord
is properly returned into the record opening 26 disposed
in the spine 18 as the turntable 132 is lowered, it is
important to aceurately locate the spine in the player -
in the front-to-baek, lateral and vertical directions.
As previously indicated, the gripper members 206 and 208
` 15 assure the front-to-back alignment, the locating member
172 ensures lateral registration and the reeeiver pads
154-162 provide aeeurate vertieal alignment. To provide
an indieation of the degree of preeision involved,
eonsider the following illustrative dimensions - reeord
i 20 outside diameter = 11.908 + 0.016 inches, spine opening
diameter = 11.385 + 0.015 inehes. The caddy and the
player mechanisms deseribed herein are capable of
funetioning with sueh small elearanees.
As shown in FIGU~E 9, the jaeket 12 is provided
with a pair of lip pads 13 and 15 to prevent dust and
debris from entering into the reeord enelosing eavity
16 of the ~aeket and to wipe the dust and debris from
` the reeord 28 as it is inserted into the jaeket and
removed therefrom. Typieally, the elearanee between
the lip pads is 0.020 inehes and the record thickness
is 0.076 inehes. When the empty jae~et 12 is inserted
into the player to retrieve the record/spine assembly,
it thrusts the reeord 28 forward in the direetion of
insertion beeause of interEerence between the lip pads
36 13 and 15 and the reeord. Such forward thrust has
tendeney to cause the reeord 28 to slide over or under
the spine 18, which, in turn, may cause the record to
jam between the spine and the jaeket 12. This condition
especially occurs when the plane of the record 28 is not
precisely aligned with the plane of the jacket 12 and the
1~5~531
1 -10- ~CA 7~,07~
spine 18. To prevent such jams, the peripheral wall of
the spine 18 defining the record opening 26 is provided
with a pocket 25 in which the record bead 29 is trapped
when the record is thrust forward during the jac]cet
insertion. Such configuration of the spine is the subject
matter of a Canadian Appln No. 365,513, filed
November 26, 19~0, of L. A. Torrington and entitled
"VIDEO DISC CADD~'".
To retrieve the record from the player, an
emnty jacket 12 is inserted into the player through
the input slot 106 along the guide rails 150 and 152.
As the jacket 12 arrives at the fully inserted
~osition in the player, the ront edge thereof engages
the deflected latch defeat members lS0 and 182 to cause
Eurther down~ard deflection thereof. During such
~urther downward deflection, the levers 230 and 232
disposed on the collars 184 and 186 bear upon the ledge
20 positlons 214 and 216 disposed on the gripper arm 200
to effect downward displacement thereof, whereby the
spine 18 is released ~rom the gripper arm. When the
jacket 12 is fully insert~d into the player, the s~ine
latch fingers 30 and 32 snap bac!c into the pockets
25 50 and 52 to loc]c the spine 1~ to the jacket and the
record/s~ine assembly is thus retrieved when the caddy
is withdrawn.
Certain features o~ the caddy, such as,
spine lateral locking mechanism, lateral locating slots,
30 etc., are tlle subject matter of a Canadian Appln 365,521,
filed November 26, 1980, of Clyde Franklin Coleman and
of L. A. Torrington, entitled "VIDEO DISC CADDY".
The construction and oneration o~ the record
side identification a~paratus 16~ of the subject
invention will now be described in detail in conjunction
with FIGUP~ES 10-16. A sensing member 250, carrying a
palr of spaced elements 252 and 254, is mounted on a
conductive ~ivot pin 256. The pivot pin 256 is
rotatably and translatably mounted in a housing 258.
The housing 258 is mounted in the player such that the
,~
".,~
115~5~1
~ RCA 74,078
sensing member 250 is subject to disposition in the path
of the leading edge of the caddy 10 during i-ts arrival at
a predetermined position in the player. A conductive leaf
spring 260, rivet~d at its one end to the housing 258,
biases the pivot pin 256 such that the sensing member 250
is raised to engage the caddy when it is inserted into the
player. A horseshoe-shaped clip 262 is mounted in a
peripheral groove 264 disposed in the pivot pin 256 to
limit the upward stroke of the sensing member 250.
Mounted on the sensing member 250 is actuating
pin 266 which is subject to engagement with the respective
one of a pair of contact blades 268 and 270 disposed on
the housing 258, when the sensing member is depressed
during further insertion of the caddy 10 into the player.
The actuating pin 266 is connected to the pivot pin 256
by a conductive shim 271. The leaf spring 260 has one end
that defines a common terminal 272. The terminal segments
Of the contact blades 268 and 270 respectively serve to
; define the SIDE 1 terminal 274 and the SIDE 2 terminal 276.
The terminals 274 and 276 are respectively connected to
the SIDE 1 and SIDE 2 circuits which illuminate the SIDE 1
and SIDE 2 tally lights 120 disposed on the front instrument
panel 102 of the player.
The operation of the record side identification
apparatus 164 will now be explained. As previously
indicated, the front edge of the spine 18 is provided
with a pair of recesses 54 and 56. It will be noted that
only one recess 54 is needed for the operation of the record
side identification mechanism 164. The other recess 56
does not serve any particular function. When the caddy 10
is inserted into the player with the recesses 54 and 56
facing downward as indicated in FIGURE 13, i.e., with the
recess 54 in the path of the sensor element 252, the ramp
portion 280 of the sensor element 254 engages the edge
portion 13 of the caddy, and the ramp portion 282 of the
sensor element 252 is in registration with the recess 54
to effect rotation of the sensing member 250 to the position
shown in FIGURE 15. In this position of the sensing
5~1
1 -12- RCA 74,07B
member 250, the actuating pin 266 is aligned with -the
SIDE 1 contact blade 268. As the caddy is further
inserted into the pla~er, the exterior side edge 15 of the
caddy depresses the sensing member 254 to establish
contact between the actuating pin 266 and the SIDE 1
contact blade 268 to illuminate the SIDE 1 tally light
on the front instrument panel of the player. The height
'10 of the sensor element 254 is greater than the height of
- the other sensor element 252 to ensure that the smaller
sensor element 252 does not rub against the label portion
17 of the jacket 12. The bigger sensor element 254
engages the jacket 12 in the non-label region 15 as
'15 indicated previously.
When the caddy 10 is inserted into the player
with the recesses 54 and 56 facing upward as illustrated in
FIGURE 14, i.e., with the recess 54 out of the path of
the shorter sensor element 252, both ramp portions 280 and
282 of the sensor elements engage the leading edge of
the caddy to cause disposition of the sensing member 250
in the location shown in FIGURE 16. In this position of
the sensing member 250, the actuating pin 266 is aligned
with the SIDE 2 contact blade 270, so that the SIDE 2
circuit is closed to illuminate the SIDE 2 tally light on
the front instrument panel of the player during further
insertion of the caddy into the player.
As shown in FIGURE 17, an oval-shaped opening
284 is disposed in the housing 258 in which the terminal
portion of the actuating pin 266 is received for limiting
the excursion of the sensor member 250. The oval-shaped
opening 284 is divided into two compartments by a
partition 286 disposed in the housing 258. As soon as
the sensing member 250 is depressed slightly, the
partition 286 locks the sensing member into the position
to which it was deflected during its initial encounter
with the caddy.
Upon jacket withdrawal, the spine 18 holds the
sensing member 250 in the depressed position to provide
continuous record side indication on the front instrument
~S4531
-13- RCA 74,078
; panel 102 of the player throughout the period of retention
of the spine in the player.
